A monologue against the legend of Real Madrid. Permanent harassment in the face of a survival exercise. A rain of corners against a marathon of clearances. The last two kings of the competition. And an outcome from eleven meters. There was no way for City to eliminate a reinforced concrete white team either in regulation time or in extra time and they paid for it by falling by the wayside. Nobody lasts in the competition like the multi-time Real Madrid champion. No one can be so inferior and resist in the waves because he received 34 shots and remained standing. Any team would not have even reached the extra 30 minutes.
But to beat Madrid you don’t just need to deserve it. It must be confirmed. Everyone knows that but City did not know how to resolve the Gordian knot and abdicated its crown.
Josep Guardiola aspired to eliminate the whites for the fourth time in six matches but he saw how his balance remained balanced (three successes and three failures). White history lived another day to feed its unwavering and incredible faith. A passport full of effort, that is undeniable. “We defended spectacularly because we are not used to being subjugated, but we knew how to defend,” summarized the center back Nacho, who came on due to Tchouaméni’s suspension.
If City did not pass it was because their attack was sterile. As demonstrated by the fact that his striker, Håland, once again drew a blank against the Madridistas. They are the only team he has played against four times without finding the net. Things about Madrid in the Champions League. Like getting into the semi-finals with a goal in the penalty shootout from a defender as tough as Rüdiger, or having Lucas Vázquez or Nacho, eternal substitutes, score from the eleven meters. Modest but very useful footballers, like their goalkeeper, Lunin. At the beginning of the season Courtois was seriously injured and Madrid signed Kepa. Nobody seemed to believe in the Ukrainian goalkeeper, in the shadows, in the background. With nothing to suggest that he could be the protagonist. But in Manchester he grew bigger and saved two penalties. Coming from having been on loan at Leganés, Valladolid and Oviedo, little did Lunin expect that one day he would experience a night like this.
City had gone 31 games without losing in the Champions League at their stadium. And now he has accumulated 32 but it is not useful for him to continue moving forward in the competition. That didn’t help her, nor did his insistent, although somewhat monotonous, attack. It is already known. Guardiola’s plan B and plan C is always to try to improve plan A. His method cannot be discussed because it has worked for him on most occasions. But against Madrid in Europe it is only worth dominating from start to finish, like in the 4-0 win last year. This time it wasn’t like that because his team’s staging was a bit lukewarm and when he turned on the turbo he was already losing.
The day after Barça experienced disappointment, Madrid continued to expand its history of feats. The Whites will arrive at Sunday’s classic worn out after so many minutes running after the ball, but they will do so full of morale and ready to deliver the final blow to the League.
